An Unforeseen Conseqeuence
by Gaming Ikari
Summary: Ino decides to play a prank on Naruto in retaliation for a few misspoken words, which ends in the girl discovering a side of of the young man she never knew existed. WAFFish. Taken over by Agent-G.
1. Chapter 1

An Unforeseen Consequence

oOo

Lounging on the veranda tiles, against the wall shadowed by the eaves of a three-story building, fifteen-year-old Yamanaka Ino appeared to be doing nothing more sinister than killing time and enjoying shelter from the sun's heat. Nose lightly twitching to enjoy the daisies in the flower box her head lay again, her gaze slowly wandered from one point to the next as if she watched the crowd far below only to keep from falling asleep.

This appearance was a carefully-planned deception. If anyone could actually see she was there, they might have noticed that the dark color of her clothes blended into the wall almost entirely, making her invisible to the casual observer. Likewise, the wooden flower box she currently used as a pillow meant her blond hair and pale face were also camouflaged. Combined with the gentle slope of the tiles underneath and her height, one would have to be an experienced jonin or ludicrously alert to discern her presence.

Her target was laughably far from the first. The youngest member of the Yamanaka clan also knew that her target, Uzumaki Naruto, was forever wandering into traps. He would never know she was there, which was probably for the best.

Naruto was always playing pranks on other people... Surely it was his turn to be on the receiving end. One simple application of her jutsu and she could cause all sorts of mayhem. She could make him single carols in the streets. She could have him romance the most inappropriate people. She could make him seem to enjoy sushi, despite his vehement objections to the sight of the stuff.

She could make him do whatever she wanted, for she was Yamanaka Ino and she had the powerful Shintenshin no Jutsu under her control.

It was pretty simple, too. All she had to do was wait until he was eating his fill at Ichiraku Ramen. Clueless to her presence, the blond girl could then use her technique to take control of him, at least for a while. She planned to make him do quite a few embarrassing things and then she'd release her jutsu, leaving the clueless genin to deal with the consequences.

Perhaps revenge is a dish best served cold. Ino agreed, chocolate ice cream being a guilty pleasure she did her best to indulge only rarely. He deserved every bit of what she would do to him, she reflected. Her thoughts turned as grim as the scowl on her face. Even with that stupid crush of his, how dare he say that Sakura and her giant forehead were a million times prettier than her! How could anyone who knew her or indeed, anyone at all compare her hair to the color of his urine!? Didn't he have any respect at ALL!?

This would not just be fully justified revenge. It would be righteously delivered heavenly punishment. Other boys had compared her to an angel often enough she felt justified in visiting this treatment on him. Anybody who so thoroughly disparaged the appearance of any woman could expect nothing less.

Noting that Naruto was not currently occupying one of Ichikaru Ramen's stools, Ino settled in for a bit of a wait.

One could rely on the orange-clad youth to proclaim the inevitability of being a Hokage any time he thought it necessary. It was almost a certainty that he would go to outrageous lengths to prove himself to his comrades, ignoring the theoretical superiority of the most dangerous foes to find that minute grip on victory. To think that the blond would ever eat anything over Ichikaru Ramen unless he had no choice was as alien a thought as any his comrades had ever had.

The silver-eyed girl smiled to herself. She could be patient.

oOo

Fresh from his training with Kakashi-sensei, Naruto could only focus on the gnawing hunger in his empty stomach. Despite the miasma of delicious scents attempting to pull him to the various stands from which they wafted, the youth resolutely continued to walk: Only the best would do after such a hard day's work.

Ichikaru Ramen was his destination.

No yakitori skewers, however tasty, could deflect his resolve. Naruto waved to Chouji as his friend sat in one of the booths. He shook his head to turn down the offer of the seat across from the portly ninja.

No okonomiyaki, however dense the toppings, could tempt him to commit culinary adultery. Even the cute brunette behind the griddle's flirting comments, enhanced by a tight blue shirt and clinging black leggings, could not draw him from his path.

Naruto couldn't help but grin as he saw the sign which heralded the end of his temptation-laden gauntlet and the beginning of edible nirvana. No other food could sate his hunger the way it was quelled by those tender noodles. Were he stranded in the largest, most barren desert, the boy would take a bowl of the succulent broth over a glacier-cold oasis any day.

Though it was already close to evening, Ichikaru Ramen's stools were empty. The old man smiled as he waved a hand in greeting, his two new assistants now rushing back and forth in the limited space in a frenzy. Both young men knew how many different things went into a Naruto Special and dreaded the alarming decimation about to be visited on their ingredients.

The young man's arrival also explained the absence of other customers. No other resident of Konoha ate at the restaurant when Naruto did and housing the Kyubi caused none of this aversion. The fact that Naruto commanded the old man's attention and depleted nearly all of the ingredients meant that whenever the blond was around, the service was much worse and the variety unusually limited.

With an enthusiastic greeting for the grey-haired owner, the blue-eyed ninja sat down in his favorite stool at the center of the stand. His first bowl of the Naruto Special was always the best: His palate was clear, his anticipation heightened by the span of time since he'd last ate the owner's edible opus.

However, the orange-clad genin never took the time to pause and appreciate that first bowl. The second was always just a fraction less sumptuous than the first. Why wait when more was available?

He'd already slurped down his third bowl as Iruka-sensei arrived, sliding onto the stool to Naruto's left and grinning. The chunin teacher sat next to his favorite student ordering his own meal and taking a moment to ponder the incredible change in strength of the once-time worst student.

Neither Iruka nor Naruto had a clue that the younger ninja was in social peril. The chunin and genin both failed to sensed the blond girl currently targeting the ramen-binging youth..

oOo

His posture was completely relaxed, head thrown back as he tilted his bowl to slurp the last dregs of broth in his bowl. His shoulders shook as Iruka turned his head to the young ninja, the blond's booming laughter loud enough to reach the kunoichi where she lounged in concealment. Whatever her former classmate said in reply wasn't loud enough to carry up to the girl, though Iruka's resulting laughter matched Naruto's for volume.

For a moment, Ino hesitated. This moment of joy was one of those moments she imagined the boy treasured most. Guilt nipped at the edges of her vengeance-fueled determination as she felt a strange desire not to intrude. It was one thing to cause the boy some embarrassment...

It would be terrible and cruel to steal a time of happiness from him. More than he deserved for his comments. She would find him again when Iruka wasn't around, when the joy in initiating her vengeance wouldn't be marred by the spectre of guilt.

Her decision to leave was quickly countermanded by a flood of anger which washed away guilt as Naruto made a fist at the back of his head and pulled it back, as if indicating a ponytail. The fuming girl distinctly heard the boy say "pee" in between bouts of chuckling. Her conscience was ignored as her hands flashed in a series of seals, ending with fingers contorting to form a heart.

Ino grimly smiled as she watched Naruto through her fingers. It would begin with a visit to Temari, staying at the guest lodge. That would draw the ire of both the girl's brothers and Shikamaru as well. Then a couple visits to places the boy had sworn he'd never eat. Perhaps even a prank on Sakura.

The cute blond boy would learn, very soon, not to mess with a Yamanaka.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu," she whispered, feeling the numbness hit her body as her spirit vacated. Chakra fused with the seperation of her consciousness to form a wild rush through the air as she bored directly into Naruto's body, hitting with no more force than a slight tap. She felt the familiar tingle in foreign extremities as Naruto's body became her puppet.

Then the feeling changed. A force slammed into her from all directions, an unstoppable avalanche, blanking all thought. Control over the boy's body was ripped from her in the same moment. She felt herself falling.

Hitting the ground in a smooth crouch, she found herself looking through large steel bars at a room built of rusted metal sheets crudely fastened to an unseen structure. Ice-cold water deep enough to chill her calves flooded the floor, making the the echoing plip of dripping water much louder than it might have been otherwise. The only exit seemed to be a darkened hallway on the other side of the room, just through the bars.

What the hell?

"**Well, it looks like I get to eat now, too," **a voice murmured from behind her, so loud and deep she felt the vibrations deep in her chest. Ino turned to see large eyes, red irises dancing wildly. A great deal of teeth then emerged from the darkness in a smile, each as large as she was. She realized she was in this thing's cage, and that the great steel bars were the prison.

Her stomach dropped: she was on the wrong side.

"**A virgin, too,"** The great being roared, a snuffling sound emerging from the darkness. The inky black hiding the teeth widened into a smile, showing that what she thought had been a large mouth was small compared to the reality. **"I'll have to thank the brat."**

Ino tried to release her jutsu as those teeth opened.

Even as she raised her hands to form the seal, Ino knew she was far too slow.

oOo

Both ninja eating at Ichikaru Ramen paused, eyes dropping to orange-clad belly as a deep purring rumbled suddenly from Naruto's stomach.

"Hey, Naruto..." Iruka queried after a moment, gesturing to Naruto's midsection with his chopsticks. "Are you all right?"

"I must still be hungry," Naruto shrugged, shoving the strange noise from his mind. Ramen needed eating. The blue-eyed genin handed his empty bowl to the smiling old man, already reaching for another bowl. "Another special, please!"

Neither the fifteen-year-old or his former teacher noticed the soulless body sitting on the roof behind them as it jolted once, struck by some invisible force. The involuntary shift altered the girl's balance, slowly tipping her torso forward. The angle was steep enough that as her torso hit the roof chest first, her weight was enough for her to slip from her perch, limply bouncing off of a sign before landing in a dumpster with a dull thud.

oOo

Author's Note:

Alright, so I've rewritten the previous Chapter 1. For those new to the story, it originally began as a roughly-hewn one-shot, ending with Ino's body falling into the dumpster as Iruka and Naruto ate ramen.

It was a touch dark. It also made me chuckle. I'm sorta evil like that.

However, prods for continuation and a kernel of a story wormed themselves into my consciousness and I decided to do more with it, hence the continuation. A half-baked rewrite also turned into this fully developed monstrosity.

Speaking of which, length-wise, this is gonna be at least double what it was... if not triple At least, if not a lot, lot more. I've rewritten chapter 1 and 2, and the grand total now throws down at a whopping 6,000 words. The previous length of the original six chapters was 9,451 words, so I'm already two-thirds of the way towards that mark with two chapters.

Hopefully you guys enjoy the newly expanded stuff.


	2. Chapter 2

An Unforeseen Consequence

oOo

In the village of Konoha, one of the first lessons potential ninja learned at the academy, drilled into each and every student from the start, was the need to fight panic and take a half-second to assess the situation before acting. This lesson had proven it's worth many times, giving Konoha ninja an edge some foes never notice until they found themselves defeated.

Ino was not prone to panic, having learned just how powerful she could become if she remained calm. The girl had seen careful consideration allow Shikamaru and her team to prevail over theoretically superior foes. Their three man team nearly fought two members of Akatsuki to a standstill, a feat few other ninja in the world could boast... let alone one Chunin fighting and defeating a member of Akatsuki in one on one combat.

All through calmly considered action. Ino was a superior ninja because she refused to panic. When the nine-tailed Kitsune it lunged forward she paused for a fraction of a section to consider how to best avoid the terrible jaws that reflexive prudence, for the first time, nearly cost her her life.

Only the uncontrollable, terror-inspired twitch of her calves edged her back enough for those terrible jaws to miss, the deep clack of the missed bite washing a chill from the back of her neck right down to her feet. Her mind recognized the need to move, before the demon realized she'd avoided the lunge.

Her need to escape overcame revulsion: The blond girl pressed both hands against the saliva-drenched white wall in front of her, arching her back and windmilling arms to plant her hands in the water. Abdominal muscles strained and hips protested as she tucked her legs in tight to avoid clipping the furred jaw just inches away. The flexible chunin bent her arms to lower her face almost into the water, then flooded biceps with chakra as she kicked her feet forward, towards a gap between the bars.

As her arms tilted her away from the fox, she straightened them as powerfully as she could, a spring pressed down suddenly free to expand. Ino prayed she would pass through the bars, knowing if she hit one of those iron pillars she was dead. Her eyes remained on the kitsune, terrible jaws opening and lunging forward again.

The pain that slapped the grey-eyed youth was overshadowed by heart-gripping terror as her back slammed into unyielding metal, an inch or two to the right of her spine. An instant stretched to an hour as memories filled her thoughts too fast to understand. Relief came as the instant passed into the next, momentum rolling her around the bar and through the gap to the other side.

Stumbling backwards, Ino heard the sweetest music: The cacophony of bone on iron as the bars held back the monster's jaws.

"What the hell?" Ino began, stopping as she realized her normally lightly teasing voice resembled the squeak of a mouse instead of clearly enunciated words. She cleared her throat, rubbing the base of her long neck to push down the lump she felt.

"**Another meal wasted," **the voice growled before she could attempt her question once more, chuckling as those horribly large teeth smiled in her direction. **"You can't escape though, Yamanaka. Eventually you'll try to get past me. There's no exit down that hallway."**

"How do you know who I am?" Ino wondered, curiosity dominating her wildly churning mood. Whatever was happening... Whatever it was... She was going to beat the living _shit _out of Naruto whenever she managed to get out of this mess.

"**Oh, your clan is well known to me. Your aunt tried to use that silly little technique on me as well, but there weren't any bars in the way... She was quite tasty," **the voice chuckled darkly. Realization Ino slapped Ino in the face: Her aunt Irisa died fighting the nine-tailed kitsune twelve years ago. The demon fox's smile widened in his cage as her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. **"I see you aren't totally stupid. Yes, I'm the nine-tailed kitsune."**

Ino's took a step back out of reflex. She was face to face with the monster which nearly destroyed Konoha. The world-shaking beast the Fourth Hokage his life to defeat.

"**Boo,"** the demon added, grin fading as it realized Ino's attention had wandered.

The present was rudely shoved aside as the events from minutes ago fought their way back to the front of the blond girl's mind, throwing a solid right cross to her sensibilities. Her jaw hung slack and her eyes lost focus as she connected the dots between the two wildly improbable events she now faced: She was talking with one of the most powerful creatures in the world _in Uzumaki Naruto's head._

It was a moment of terrible clarity which explained the universal aversion to the orphan the entire village displayed. Her own parents had told her to keep away from the solitary child when she'd first started her lessons at the academy. As young as she'd been when she'd heard the stern warning, she never once thought to ask the why, blindly trusting their judgment.

The revelation explained the boy's dozens of idiosyncrasies. Now it was clear how he could keep molding chakra during lessons long after his peers had given up in frustration, their own reserves as dry as the dunes of the Sand Country. His savant-like skill in mastering the most high-classed, chakra-intensive jutsu while basic techniques were beyond his reach now made a terrible kind of sense: The girl imagined that gathering and manipulating the relatively small amounts of chakra required for basic techniques had to feel like using a wallscroll-sized inkbrush to write on a yellow sticky note.

"This is Naruto's mind?" Ino whispered in disbelief, taking in the rusted metal of the young man's mind. No wonder she hadn't recognized the feel of a person's thoughts in this dark, terribly desolate place. Most people visualized their own minds in abstractions that were generally more... peaceful. This had the homey feeling of an abandoned bunker, not like a cottage in the meadow or the beautiful palace which comprised the typical image of a person's mind.

"**Not totally stupid, but not all that smart either,"** The fox grumbled, it's claws again reaching forward to try to grasp the frightened girl through the metal bars which formed it's seal. They dug into the ground, creating an earthquake as the fox dragged them back within the seal. **"Of course you're in his mind. You used that technique of yours, didn't you? This is just an abstraction of his mind which your tiny mortal brain can comprehend. Are you sure you don't want me to eat you? I might be doing you a favor..."**

"No, you can't eat me!" Ino roared, irritation finally overcoming her initial fear of the rumbling beast. A shuriken from her belt pouch was hurled through the bars, though the eyes didn't even blink. Her mind was racing as she considered her options. How the hell was she going to get out of this? She glanced back down the hallway, considering it.

The kitsune said there was no escape. Perhaps he was lying...

"**I wouldn't,"** the monster fox taunted, the chuckling somehow more sinister than any sound she'd ever heard. The great monster's voice dripped dark enjoyment. **"The only thing you'll find down that corridor are Naruto's memories. I wouldn't wish those on that damned two-tailed cat."**

"There has to be a way out," Ino muttered to herself, unable to deny the urge to see what made the blond genin tick. She'd been fairly dismissive of Sakura's teammate until recently: Then the boy fought a member of Akatsuki with nothing more than his guts, his chakra, and a desire to prove his worth against a ludicrously dangerous foe, choosing to do so alone instead of with the aid of one of the most experienced ninja in Konoha.

Shikamaru had entered the fight with a plan and a unflinching desire for revenge driving him: What arrogant pride made the blond boy take on one of the most dangerous ninja in the world just to measure his own strength? He hadn't known Asuma especially well, couldn't have had any strong hatred for Kakazu or his partner. Nothing save the man's association with Akatsuki and his trespasses against fellow academy students who hadn't been especially close made him the blond boy's foe.

"**All you'll find is misery,"** the fox sang, as if reading Ino's desire to walk down the hall in the careful stare she directed down the darkened corridor. Amused by the prospect, he paused for a moment, reading it's contents without traversing darkened corridors. His next words were more to himself than her: **"What a ninja Konoha created... Though they're lucky they didn't make him like that Gaara kid."**

Ino's curiosity could no longer be denied. She'd hadn't really had any contact with Naruto before graduation, except for the casual association granted by their classes together. After she and Sakura had come to terms with their rivalry, after that first chunin exam, she'd occasionally listened to the pink-headed girl's stories, but...

Well... She always embellished the stories of her own missions with Shikamaru and Chouji. It was just that they were really boring, unless she added a few more ninja, each using a few more jutsu then they actually had. Talking about yet another ambush, the majority of their foes decimated by Chouji's powerful taijutsu while Shikamaru held them immobile would have quickly grown stale. Even the occasionally quick or cautious foe who escaped was easy prey for her jutsu.

She listened to Sakura's own tales under the assumption that the green-eyed girl was adding the same sort of embellishment. The recent understanding she'd gained threw her teammate into a whole new light, knowing every word her friend spoke was the simple truth, if not actally understated.

She struggled to resolve the class prankster with the sort of ninja who didn't hesitate for a second to go toe to toe with one of the Sannin for a girl who ignored him and a boy who belittled him... all within months of graduation. The sort of boy who could come up with a plan to free his jounin sensei and allow his team to prevail when, by all rights, they should have been easy pickings for Zabuza's Mizu Bunshins. The sort of young man who would travel non-stop to another country to fight a member of Akatsuki to save the life of a young man who'd tried to kill him.

The chance she had was too unique to pass up. Her feet were slipping through the cold water before she admitted to herself she wanted to know more about the orange-clad genin.

Butterflies churned her stomach as she advanced down the hallway. The inky blackness was frightening enough, and only the cackling of the amused fox allowed her to walk on, spite trumping anxiety. She paused before the first iron door she saw, massive hinges crudely bolted to a frame assembled from scraps of girders. A ring hanging on one side of the door rustily protested being disturbed as she grasped it, pulling the door open with a squeal.

A flood of memories struck her, a solid haymaker to the gut buckling her knees. Her mind reeled, a dischordant bouquet of emotions warring for dominance. Anger. Hurt. Apathy so thick Ino's respect for the boy rose, just for the willpower it would have taken to cast it aside.

As her mind struggled, her vision tumbled through a rainstorm of colour, then...

Naruto's eighth birthday. Staring at the wall in a shabby, ill-kept apartment. She shifted only slightly, and then just to offset the gradual ache ever-building from sitting on a lumpy futon. The bed's only companion was a rusted metal dinner tray, decorated with three empty styrofoam cups. Ino was unable to flinch at the way the boy ignored the itch of wet skin from tears he was too detached to wipe away.

A lone visitor taking him to Ichiraku Ramen for a treat, giving the boy a small cupcake and some words of encouragement... it was a glorious sunrise by comparison. The blond girl wondered if Iruka would ever realize just how much those thirty short minutes meant to the orphaned boy that day.

Ino stumbled back from the door, hand recoiling from iron ring as if it was a hot pan, wanting nothing more than to forget the raw hatred the young eight-year-old boy had possessed. Iruka-sensei's visit was the only pause in a silent contemplation of rage. Even now she felt tainted by it, angry with everything around her just from that one memory.

She'd known this much hate only for the pair who'd killed her sensei. To feel it for everything but one person, even peripherally... It staggered her. How could someone walk around with so much hatred bottled up within themselves? The stark contrast with the smiling boy she knew Naruto to be only made the memory that much more repulsive.

"**Oh, he was quite the little hellfire,"** the nine-tailed demon mused, as if reading the look on her face through the darkness. She felt his grin, even though the black shadows robbed her of the sight. **"That was the first birthday anybody bothered to visit him, give him gifts... And then, it was only his teacher from the academy, coming by with a cupcake and a few words of encouragement."**

"He had friends," Ino whispered to herself, grey eyes tracing the rust which held the memory at bay. She wanted to conjure a lock and seal away the memory forever, make sure it would never haunt her or it's owner again. It was too painful to bear, even as a spectator. "I remember Chouji and Shikamaru talking about the times they'd pull pranks on Iruka-sensei..."

"**Oh, they talked to him during school. He was too much of a prankster not to get along with them... But he had nobody when he went home. Nobody to comfort him, nobody to tell him he'd done well. No comfort and encouragement when he failed.**

"**All he had was a single room, a second-hand futon and his training."** The fox paused, as if he were enjoying the horror gripping Ino with icy fingers. **"The only reason he wasn't like that Gaara kid was the because of Iruka. He and The Third were the only bright spots in Naruto's existence until he graduated from the academy."**

Gaara. Only perspective gained from the sight of his furtive, shy smiles whenever he and his siblings had reason to visit softened the hard memories from years ago. Ino still had nightmares of the vacant-eyed youth from her first chunin exam.

The first of Naruto's memories was already an ugly scar she could never erase from her mind. She turned to look down the dark hallway, to where the kitsune grinned through those iron bars beyond the darkness, beyond sight.

The silence gloated, somehow more smug than any words.

She firmly turned her back on the monster, on that taunting grin she felt but could not see. Morbid fascination pulled Ino deeper down the iron hallway, searching darkened patches of rust for the next memory. Even the hallway filled the hollow of the girl's neck with a lump: Naruto's mind was the long-abandoned ruin caused by an epic struggle.

She grasped the ring on the second door, opening the memory with a firm, determined yank. Even braced for it, she couldn't stop the tears.

oOo

Naruto breathed a sigh of contentment as he stretched out on his bed, staring up at his ceiling as he let the warmth from the bowls of ramen spread out from his stomach, until even his fingers and toes tingled. Dreams crept around the edges of conscious thought, waiting for him to lower his guard so they could slip to the front of his mind.

Sure, he'd pissed off Ino, he mused... He'd also messed up at asking Sakura on a date and had to put up with Sai's... curiosity about the Sexy no Jutsu. Then again, he'd also gotten the chance to tell Iruka about kicking Kazaku's ass, which resulted in his teacher paying for his first three bowls of Ichikaru.

Any day he got treated to Ichikaru, he concluded, was a good day.

He drifted blissfully into sleep, pulling his black sleeping cap more snugly onto his head as he curled up underneath the blankets.

He found himself drifting between stray thoughts... and then with an abruptness he thought out of place, he was vividly dreaming.

He knew he was dreaming because Ino was crying. Not only that, but he was in front of the stupid fox's cage in his boxers. All the party needed was an older teacher-type spouting strange, inscrutible advice to convince him to never again eat crab ramen before bedtime again.

"What the hell?" Naruto muttered, scuffing his bare foot on the water as he cast his eyes around. Being a dream, he was wearing the same clothes he'd been wearing when he'd fallen asleep... His hat, his boxers, and the blond hair his father (or mother) had given him. He prodded the blond girl on the shoulder. "Oi, what's going on?"

"Naruto! I'm sorry!" As the tall blond girl tackled him, Naruto knew without a doubt he was dreaming. A small part of him insisted it was real, but the various soft parts brushing against him convinced the blue-eyed Hokage-to-be that this was fiction from his subconscious: No way, no how was he this lucky with any girl, let alone Sakura's rival of all people. As if reading his thoughts, the fox chuckled as it watched him. Ino paused, sniffling as glistening grey eyes met blue. "I should have been nicer! I didn't know!"

"Er, it's okay!" Naruto tried, without much success. He gingerly patted the girl on the back, torn between the twin urges to throw his arms around and give her a firm hug and trying to crawl away. This dream was getting REALLY weird. Normally his dreams were only sort of strange. Hell, if the blond was a pinkette and he wasn't being watched by the creepy fox, it would have resembled one of his normal dreams.

He shrugged. What the hell, it was just a dream. He hugged Ino, patting her on the head. "Don't cry, Ino! Nothing's worth getting this upset over!"

"Always cheerful, just like Iruka taught you," Ino sniffled, pulling back and looking up at Naruto with the softest grey eyes he'd ever seen on the girl. That pretty much settled it for him: Nobody knew about his conversations with Iruka, not even Sakura or Sasuke... and the thought of Soft or Kind being used in the same sentence with Yamanaka Ino, especially in regards to him? It had to be a dream. "Naruto, I've been really mean to you... Do you forgive me?"

"Of course!" Naruto promised, thinking that this dream wasn't so bad after all. Now that he had a moment to consider it without being yelled at, Sakura's rival was fairly pretty in her own way. He recalled the way both girls had fawned over Sasuke and figured it was something with his subconscious mind trying to overcome Sasuke in every way possible. He resolved to give his subconscious mind a kick in the ass and anywhere else he could reach at the next opportunity. "Don't worry about it, Ino. I'll even treat you nicer after this dream is over!"

"Dream?" Ino seemed to scowl for a moment and then she smiled. The devious look on her face gave Naruto pause, though rational thought fled as the girl, still hugging him tightly, took a deep breath. "Yeah, this dream! When this dream is over, I might even treat you nicer, too!"

"This is my dream, not yours," Naruto groused, finally letting her go and taking a look around. It didn't feel like a normal dream, either. He grinned at her. "It's not like you're going to even know about any of this when I wake up. You're just a figment of my imagination."

"Well, I want out," Ino admitted, her head bowing forward as she sidled up to Naruto. He blushed as he felt... parts... brushing against his bare chest. She latched onto his arm. "But it looks like the only way I can get out is if that monster fox lets me. Make him let me go, will you?"

"Sure," Naruto promised. It was just a dream, after all. He marched right up to the bars of the cage, poking his finger into the darkness. "Oi, stupid fox! Let Ino go so I can get back to sleep!"

"**Make me,"** the fox growled, annoyed. It didn't need this. Nations bowed at it's feet and some upstart punk was always giving it orders.

Naruto grinned.

"Fuuton: Rasenshuriken!" Naruto roared, feeling the familiar drain on his chakra. Funny... He didn't usually feel a drain when he performed jutsus in his dreams. Then again, this dream was kind of weird anyway. He held the jutsu swirling in his hand in front of himself. "Don't make me come in there!"

oOo

The nine-tailed kitsune frowned at the swirling mass of chakra.

Naruto didn't know it but where he lay in his bed, he held a fully formed Rasenshuriken in front of himself towards the ceiling. Absent his conscious mind, he had the concentration and willpower to form it, however briefly. If it detonated and expanded like it had during the boy's fight with Kazaku, it would probably kill him where he slumbered.

The fox knew that if Naruto died, he did too. In fact, the fox knew that Naruto's technique would kill them both several times over, in a manner which would leave the medical squads both confused and intrigued.

Of course, the idiot thought it was all a dream. He thought he was just being the typical hero without knowing just how close to death he was coming. Then again, with how close the moron trodded to death every time he gleefully threw himself into battle, the idiot's danger sense was probably as well-balanced as a vase in an earthquake.

The fox relented, pulling back his chakra and allowing the Yamanaka to release the seal from where she stood. Without the demonic pull of his chakra, she was able to release the technique with ease. The stupid blond who was his jailer wasn't even competent enough to realize as the girl faded from his mind, her soul dispersing through the air to return to her body.

Naruto grinned as he allowed the technique to dissipate. It had been a weird dream.

Right now it didn't matter because he wanted to swim in a lake of ramen.

oOo

Ino breathed a breath of air, writhing as she felt herself once more in her own body. She was free! She'd escaped the nine-tailed kitsune! She was once more back in her own body! She was alive! She- Ino sniffed, realizing she smelt like garbage.

Pulling herself from the dumpster, Ino smiled as she thought of a blond boy.

She'd misjudged him.

She'd thought he was nothing more than a loser, a failure not worthy of her attention. Just looking through his memories she'd seen fights that had left a lasting impression on her.

A small part of her shuddered at the reckless courage it would take to fight Orochimaru not once, but twice... both times knowing full well he might die. When ninja dared talk about Orochimaru to her generation it was in a whisper, as if the mention of his name would bring him back. That Naruto would charge into battle with him for the sake of his comrades, when even jounin would run, was a resolute monument to his character.

The blond boy was a ninja worth watching.

Thinking of her sensei's last words to her, she grinned. Sakura might not know the prize she had following in her footsteps, but Ino would claim it. She wouldn't lose to Sakura in love. Not when the prize was so worth catching.

Not when the prize would be the next Hokage.

oOo

Author's Notes:

Er, yeah. As mentioned previously, this rewrite is currently kicking every flavour of ass over the original. The next chapter is going to take the word count a couple thousand beyond the scope of the original, and we're only going to be on the THIRD chapter.

We're also going to start visiting newly-trod ground, soon. This rewrite is actually the second one. The first just saw me copying and pasting two chapters into one file, which resulted in me writing a full-length battle for the fight with Naruto and his sparring partner.

Theoretically, I'm going to be posting a newly-rewritten chapter every few days so I can post Chapter 7 ASAP. Let's see how that works, eh?


	3. Chapter 3

An Unforeseen Consequence

oOo

Ino awoke to a fresh new day, stretching as she got out of bed and banished the last bits of sleep from her thoughts. Her mind, normally focused on her plans for the day, wandered aimlessly as she went through her morning routine, brushing her hair and putting on the earrings Asuma-sensei had given her for making chunin rank.

As she she slipped into her day clothes, she resolved to right a wrong she'd been unconsciously committing since the early days of the academy.

Ino was not one to admit she was wrong. Not often. This was not the product of arrogance, but simple fact: Yamanaka Ino put great thought and consideration into her decisions and thus, was wrong very, _very _rarely. The few times that she was wrong, it was either in battle or inconsequential. In battle if you were wrong you had moments to correct it or you were dead. Admitting you'd messed up just wasted time, so she'd spent those moments correcting her error and wrestling victory from her foes.

To think she'd misjudged someone... not just someone she'd known briefly, but someone she had known, in theory, for years... it was just galling.

For the longest time, she'd thought there were only a few people who'd qualified as dating material from the pool of ninja in her age group. Among those few, none had been available: Sasuke had been too distant and emotionally detached. Neji had proven to be a cold individual, interested only in his skill and his standing among his fellow ninja. Even Sakura's new teammate Sai, while nice enough and thoroughly cute, ultimately proved himself a little too weird for her tastes.

For the longest time she'd despaired of ever finding good boyfriend material. When her desperation had caused her eyes to turn briefly to her own teammates, Temari had very subtly bared her teeth and made her claim on Shikamaru quite clear. Even if the Nara heir didn't realize it yet, he was as good as married. It was only a matter of time before the blond sand kunoichi sprung her trap... and she was nearly as devious as the lazy boy himself.

Chouji was... well, Chouji. Too much the little brother. She'd set him up with enough of her friends that dating him would have felt weird. Not to mention that he was a little too meaty for her tastes.

Of course she'd dismissed Naruto, practically from the moment she'd met him. To be fair she was just one of the many girls who had. Throughout the entire course of the academy Naruto had been the worst student, overall. He'd only ever been a touch better than adequate at taijutsu and ninja tool use and was dead last in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and a multitude of written work. He was the class clown, spending more time and effort on jokes than on his schoolwork.

Even Sakura, the young man's teammate, had dismissed him for the longest time. Ino couldn't recall Sakura mentioning the boy with praise without adding how far behind Sasuke he stood. Even after his two and a half year absense, Sakura's praise for the blond boy was sparsely given, though it had become qualified by circumstance less and less with each day.

Then again, Ino had learned a lot from her brief jaunt through his mind. Though many memories were too old or too fractured to get more than a brief impression of the events and others were hazy visions seen through dense fog, she'd seen everything from the boy's own eyes, unembellished by his ego or underplayed by his teammates.

Seeing was enough. She was impressed.

Learning that it was Naruto and not Sasuke who defeated that monster Gaara had been a shock: It disproved a popular theory about what had happened when Sasuke had chased the sand-nin from the stadium. As the consensus went, Sasuke chased Gaara and his siblings from the stadium. Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sakura followed as support, during which Shikamaru dropped back to foil the pursuit. When Naruto and Sakura caught up, they neutralized Gaara's sister while Sasuke fought the red-haired freak.

That was what everyone believed. It was the only explanation that made any sense. Then she'd seen Naruto save Sasuke from death at the hands of the sand-ninja and match the terribly powerful youth blow for blow. Even seeing it from the blond's eyes she was hard-pressed to resolve the resolute youth with the Naruto she knew.

Any time she'd seen Naruto create hundreds kage bunshins it sent a shiver through her at the thought of the chakra expenditure it would take. She'd experimented with the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu technique once and trying to create a few dozen had given her a whole new respect for Naruto, even years ago. That his fight with Neji was the gentle foothills and not the sky-obscuring peak of his ability was mind-boggling. Her limit was perhaps a dozen: Beyond that, her clones would lack the chakra to move, let alone fight effectively.

Then there were his more fantastical fights. The ones Sakura had never even hinted at, the ones he had never boasted of himself: His fights with Orochimaru; with Kabuto; with other foes she would have been frightened to consider fighting with her team at her side, never mind alone. She was sure that if she lived to serve Konoha for another century, she would not face half as many desperate battles as the blond boy had already seen.

The thought that Tsunade of all people had been forced to rely on Naruto to protect her, however briefly, was supremely shocking. The Hokage was supposed to be an infallibly strong ninja, an example for all other ninja in the village to use as a model for improvement. The Hokage wasn't supposed to be a terrified woman relying on a genin to protect her. It went a long way towards explaining the Fifth Hokage's unwavering confidence in the young man.

She could finally admit to herself that she'd misjudged the boy _very _badly. Ino prided herself on her ability to judge people, a leftover trait from trying to figure out the reason young men were buying gifts at her family's flower shop. It had been a fun game to guess whether the purchase was an apology, a hopeful gesture, a wish for better health, or even just a sign of affection. She'd gotten so good she was now able to predict what a customer wanted just by their posture as they walked in the door.

Having dismissed Naruto before, she'd missed the signs which were so obvious to her, now. She was astonished she could have missed them, as loud and obvious as they were.

He exuded a warm confidence she'd dismissed as brash arrogance. She had never before considered that his firm belief in his ability to defeat almost any foe could be a genuine belief. After a myriad of fights scattered across dozens of countries, it was a chilling realization to find that the only time the blond ninja had ever backed down from any ninja was for the safety of his comrades, not himself.

That his naked affection for all those around him was no mask, but a terrifyingly resolute dogma was clear. She'd thought he was just trying to fit in by saying that he'd fight for those he believed in... she hadn't believed that anyone could have such a big heart. She'd thought the orange-clad genin knew Hinata far better than he actually did, for all his passion in confronting Neji during that eventful first chunin exam. That his association with the girl was no more intimate than his connection with her, save for the white-eyed girl's obvious crush, was another shock.

For a handful of heartfelt words and a few smiles, he'd been enraged enough to not only face, but _defeat_ the strongest genin in Konoha.

Now she knew better, having seen just how eager he was to put a Will of Fire behind his often-dismissed promises of friendship. She knew that if it came down to standing between an army and a friend, Naruto would stand in front of that army with a cocky grin. He would do so without giving the matter a second thought... or even a first one. He would charge into that army with nothing more than a disbelief that anyone would have the brazen temerity to actually stand in his way, as if their defeat was a forgone conclusion.

A wry part of her noted that given his fetish for the kage bunshin no jutsu and the monstrous stamina he had, he was probably right.

She slipped into the kitchen, returning her father's grin with one of her own as she opened the door separating her mother's shop from the family home. Her mother's raised eyebrow was studiously ignored as Ino grabbed three specific blooms and slipped outside.

She had prey to catch.

oOo

Ino's first order of business was her rival, Sakura.

She was almost willing to pursue Naruto regardless of their friendship, given what she'd learned during the eventful evening she'd had just last night. She was honest enough with herself to admit she'd much prefer to clear things with the girl first and find out where the pink-haired girl stood with the blond genin. If they were just friends, so much the better: Losing Sakura once had been painful enough.

That haunting fear was the reason Ino found herself drifting into the Konoha hospital.

While she was a fully trained medic-nin, she was by no means on the same level as the pinkette she was searching for. She was adequate as a medical ninja, good enough to heal wounds in the middle of combat. She was not good enough to warrant pulling duty at the hospital while not on a mission.

Passing half-exhausted medics as she wound through the halls, Ino mused that perhaps, mastery of a skill wasn't everything. Every medic-nin she passed seemed to have become trapped by their skill: Their time for practice of Taijutsu or other Ninjutsu seemed to wane as the demands on their skill in healing increased, turning what was once merely a specialty into the exclusive use of their talents.

It didn't take her long to find her friend, eyes closed in uncharacteristic serenity as she paused for a brief moment over tea in the break room in between checking on her patients. Her green eyes opened as Ino stepped lightly into the room.

"Ino?" Sakura was surprised, Ino noted, and with good reason. Ino rarely showed up at the hospital to visit, preferring to see Sakura during her off-hours.

"Hi, Sakura," Ino said, pouring herself some tea from the staff kettle. She sat down on a nearby bench, suddenly nervous as she searched for words. While this was Sakura of all people, Ino knew that bubble gum-haired girl held a definite advantage with Naruto. Not only was she the girl Naruto had been crushing on for the last four years, but she was his teammate. She'd been there for him during the roughest of times, shared in some of his most desperate battles.

This was a girl Naruto had fought earth-shaking battles for, the girl Naruto for whom had faced Orochimaru without a trace of hesitation. A girl who could have the blond boy's heart for nothing more than the effort of voicing the request.

"What's up, Ino?" Sakura finally asked, seeming to grow impatient. Ino remembered the girl was on duty. The break Ino was interrupting was probably scheduled to end in a handful of minutes.

"I had an encounter with Naruto yesterday," Ino finally said, tossing aside her worries plunging forward. While she didn't want to spill everything to her friend, she needed to at least get on to the topic quickly. "Has he always been so... open?"

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, blinking. She idly sipped her tea as she thought. "Well, I suppose he has. It's kind of hard to take him seriously sometimes, but he's... consistent. Steady. He's childish a lot of the time, but he always pulls through in the end."

"So you trust him?" Ino pushed, wanting to know more. She didn't want to tip her hand, and was thankful Sakura was too distracted by the questions to push deeper into Ino's motives.

"He's like an annoying little brother," Sakura finally answered, and Ino breathed an inner sigh of relief. Little brother. Not someone you date. She was in the clear, at least for now. Sakura grinned to herself, giving Ino the impression she was being ignored as those green eyes wandered somewhere distant, adding, "Sometimes he seems so strong, so sure of himself. Other times, he's almost fragile. And when he needs to be, he's... well... I guess you could say that his fight with Kakazu was just another day for me."

"I see," Ino paused, now unsure. Sakura's words weren't quite the words she would have been using if she just thought of Naruto as a teammate and a friend. Sakura was sending two very different messages. If she was thinking of the blond boy as more than a little brother...

"Damn, I've got to go, Ino," Sakura muttered as she glanced at the clock, finishing the rest of her tea in quick gulp and standing. She glanced back at Ino. "Look, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Sure," Ino said, standing and finishing her own tea as well. Sakura might welcome her presence, but she doubted the medical staff wanted her hanging around. She left the hospital, two different sections of her mind at war, now. She shook it off... It might not even matter in the first place.

She had to go see the blond boy. She would make things clear. Even if his heart was Sakura's for the taking, perhaps he wasn't willing to wait for the girl to clear the sand from her eyes and realize just what she had in her grasp.

oOo

Naruto grimaced, sweat beading on his brow. He had to make a choice.

Pink was his favorite and had been for a number of years... Truly, the love of his life. But that golden yellow was so inviting, so tempting... He was torn. Did he maintain his faith to his love or give in to the golden temptation that stood right in front of him?

Pink or golden yellow? How could someone even _make _that choice?

It was absurd to think he had to choose. He'd simply have both. That would solve his dilemma quite easily. He would start with the pink and then the golden yellow would finish him off. That would solve things best for all involved. He could keep his faith and try the tempting new vision, now flipping his perception and inverting his sensibilities.

So decided, Naruto tore open the seal on the pink ramen package as he prepared his breakfast. Beef would taste better before chicken, anyway.

oOo

Ino and Sakura paused simultaneously, kilometers apart. An unconscious part of their minds insisted that Naruto was the cause.

oOo

Naruto patted his stomach as he leaned back at his dining room table, completely stuffed thanks to the double serving of Ramen. He cocked his head as a chill ran down his spine, as if he were being hunted. The blond usually trusted his instincts, so he decided he'd leave early to train.

He had a promise to keep, and nothing to be gained by lounging around his home. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to start his trek early, scout out the venue for the upcoming match and confirm that there were no hidden surprises.

It couldn't hurt.

oOo

Ino tracked her prey to training ground eight and paused as she saw Naruto standing across the field from Hyuga Neji, a determined look on both their faces. They didn't smile, didn't joke. The Hyuga simply dropped into his Gentle Fist stance as Naruto charged with a loud cry, closing the distance to throw punches and kicks with the reckless taijutsu that was the orange-clad youth's trademark.

Ino watched in mute horror, powerless to stop the fight as it ramped up. Naruto used his kage bunshins to throw the jounin off guard as the duo attempted to pummel one another other, vicious scowls on their faces as they ripped into one another with a frenzy Ino hadn't seen since the two boys had clashed in the chuunin exam three years ago.

Deadly chakra flashed and puffs of smoke exploded as the clones swarming Neji burst in a cloud of wasted chakra. Though clearly doing noticeable damage to his foe's chakra reserves, the Hyuga boy was being forced back as Naruto and his remaining clones pressed the advantage.

Two Narutos dropped low to the ground, kicking their legs out to rob Neji of his footing as a third Naruto slugged the long-haired jounin with a solid right cross which elicited a grunt of pain. That quickly transformed into a smirk of victory as one of the white-eyed boy's legs touched the ground, allowing him to torque his body into a deadly spin of released chakra: Kaiten, the ultimate defensive technique of the Hyuga clan.

Naruto tumbled through the air, twisting and landing on his feet as his less fortunate clones hit the dirt and exploded from the impact. The blond grinned as he formed a seal, summoning more clones to his aid.

"Clones, clones... Is that all you're capable of, Naruto?" Neji taunted, plucking a pair of kunai from his ninja tool pouch and hurling them towards the small army amassed in front of him. He was unsurprised to see his two targets vanish in a puff of smoke.

"Who needs more to deal with you?" All of the Narutos demanded at once, an identical grin coming to their faces at exactly the same time. The closest blond pointed one finger at his foe. "I didn't need to use anything else to beat you, before!"

"Arrogant," Neji muttered, charging into the mass of clones with a grin.

Ino sat in the tree, trying not to blink as the two ninja, genin and jounin, clashed. Neither seemed capable of gaining a significant advantage... Neji was able to nullify the most devastating of Naruto's attacks, while the blond ninja seemed to possess the superhuman ability to replace lost clones at whim, ignoring the potentially crippling chakra cost without a heavy breath.

It was a deadly balance. Ino watched in horror as blood sprayed from Naruto's back, followed by Neji's hand as it pierced the boy's body. Sheer force had killed Naruto over and over again, before the body would inevitably puff into smoke and Ino could breathe a brief sigh of relief. The battle had been going on and on in this fashion for nearly forty minutes.

There was only one Naruto left. Neji closed, readying his hand. Naruto fought valiantly, twisting and turning out of the way, attempting his own counter-blow against his jounin foe. None of Naruto's blows found their mark, but Neji struck true with a sharp blow which cleanly caught Naruto's throat, causing the young blond to drop to his knees and cough as he vomited blood.

Neji had killed Naruto.

As Ino prepared to use her own jutsu to capture Neji, Naruto poofed out of existence as the sound of clapping filled the clearing. Neji smiled and turned to the source of the clapping as Naruto dropped from a nearby tree branch.

"Good job, Neji! You managed to kill five hundred clones in under an hour!" Naruto's voice was jovial, and he wore a broad grin as he walked over towards his friend.

"Naruto... Only you would call that an accomplishment," Neji grinned, shaking the younger man's hand. He shook his head. "I seem to recall defeating dozens of your kage bunshins in under a minute during the chunin exam."

"Yeah, yeah... So why did you need my help training anyway? Isn't that what Lee and Tenten are for?" Naruto asked, scratching his chin.

"Well, I can't use the Gentle Fist on them, idiot. Not like I can against you. You're the only ninja I know with enough chakra to pose a good challenge after using kage bunshins," Neji smiled, cocking his head. "I think it's time I go now, though. I think Ino wants to talk to you."

Ino started, surprised at being detected. Then she remembered the Hyuga family's bloodline limit let them see nearly everything around them and also remembered that Neji had a ridiculously large range for his. He'd probably been keeping an eye on her since the fight started. She hopped down from the tree branch where she'd thought she was concealed and walked into the clearing.

"Take care, Neji" Naruto said, clapping the jounin on the shoulder. As the Hyuga walked away, Naruto pointed a finger at him. "And don't think this means you can beat me in a fight, now! That first kage bunshin only had half my chakra!"

The older boy only raised his hand in a wave, not looking back. Then again, it's not like he needed to look back to see the grin on Naruto's face.

"So Ino... Why are you here? Does the Hokage need to see me?" Naruto pondered, his eyes squinting and his mouth pouting as he cocked his head to the side. Ino suddenly remembered why she'd misjudged Naruto... the look on his face was completely devoid of thought.

"No, Naruto. I was just wondering something..." Indecision seized Ino in a vice grip. She'd never bothered to ask anyone on a date, ever. That simply wasn't the way it worked. Guys asked her for a date, and then she considered it. Asking a guy out herself was... unprecedented. She might flirt with them, imply she wanted a date, but she never asked.

"Wondering what?" Naruto's face was still tilted, his expression unchanging. It showed nothing of the Naruto Ino had seen in his memories. Nothing of the boy smart enough to fool a jounin ninja in a mission to the Land of Waves, smart enough to fool Neji, smart enough to fool dozens of other opponents. It was absolutely maddening.

"Well, Team 10 and I feel kind of bad that you were tricked into paying for our dinner like you did," Ino charged forward, her goal in sight. She put on her best smile. "So we want to treat you to dinner to make up for it."

"Oh, okay!" Oblivious, Ino's target agreed. She smiled to herself.

"Great! We'll see you at seven at Amaguri, okay?" Ino asked, wincing slightly to herself. Amaguri was a relatively expensive restaurant, not the sort of place her teammates would normally frequent. Of course, it would be easier to convince them to come up with excuses not to come that way. Ino's wince turned to a smile.

"Sure," Naruto said, confused. Sure, he'd treated them to dinner once, but it hadn't been _that _ expensive, even with Chouji. It wasn't really that big a deal, especially compared to how much Asuma-sensei's teachings had advanced him along the path to his new jutsu.

Ino disappeared almost in a flash, hurrying home to make preparations for tonight's dinner.

Behind her, she left a very confused Naruto.

oOo

Author's Note:

And so I surpass the previous wordcount of the fic by a solid 2000 or so, without even reaching Chapter 4.

When I'd first set out to correct the horribly low wordcount of the chapters in the original, my method was a simple cut and past of the existing text to halve the chapter count. Thus, Chapter 1 and 2 became the new Chapter 1, etc. This left me with a scene break smack dab in the middle of the Neji and Naruto fight, with no more excuses not to fill it.

So I expanded the fight a bit.

Expect the newly-rewritten Chapter 4 within a few hours. OpenOffice is fired up and I'm not going to be sleeping for a while yet. My goal is to finish rewriting all six chapters by Tuesday so that I can post the piping hot, completely new Chapter 7 on Wednesday.

Let's see how it goes, eh?


	4. Chapter 4

An Unforeseen Consequence

oOo

Mere hours after a bloody battle, the likes of which would have left all but the most elite of Konoha's ninja in awe, Uzumaki Naruto found himself faced with a far more daunting challenge: searching for acceptable clothing for the gathering with Team Seven at a fancy restaurant the blond never would have set foot in normally.

Naruto knew enough about the Amaguri that he knew he needed to dress properly. Opting for a simple, vibrantly red Water-country shirt he'd picked up while journeying with Jiraiya, Naruto nervously did up the golden-colored ties which served as the front of the shirt before pulling a pair of loose black slacks from his wardrobe. He tied the pants off at his ankles using the plain black ties, standing up to take in the effect. With the black slippers, it wasn't too bad. In fact... he looked kinda dashing. Like the hero in a martial arts story he'd once read as a kid.

He smiled at the overall effect. Aside from his unruly blond hair, an ever-defiant mass which refused to bend before the tyranny of either comb or brush, he looked every part the gentleman. With a lovely lady at his side he'd even pass for good company. The blond boy fiddled with the stiff cuffs of the shirt, playing with the golden-hued pegs.

Glancing in the mirror a second time, he was tempted to find something a little less refined, now that he thought about it. Perhaps he was over-dressed. He didn't want to look like an idiot if Shikamaru showed up in a chunin vest. Then again, the lazy bastard managed to look cool in the outfit: Naruto dreaded the day he'd wear it.

Naruto's meandering thoughts were interrupted by a knock at his apartment door. The lovely lady who would give the rest of Konoha the illusion that he was socially passable.

"Sorry, Naruto. Sai had something to do and couldn't make it tonight. So I guess it's just going to be the two of us with Team 10 for dinner tonight," Sakura smiled weakly, apologetic. Naruto waved off her concerns, instead focusing on the enchanting effect her refined blue dress had on her figure. It was demure, without making her look old. The blue was even a light enough shade not to clash with the pink of her hair, currently combed and curled out at the ends in a rare defiance of her vow to stop caring for her looks in preference to caring for her ninjutsu.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan," Naruto said with a smile. He stepped out of his apartment, locking the door behind him with a click. Pocketing his keys, he smiled at the pinkette. "Even if the six is reduced to five, it's fine."

"But, does Ino know you've invited your team with you to dinner?" Sakura asked, her eyes wide. Ino had offered to pay for Naruto, not the rest of his team. Some unconscious part of the green-eyed girl told her that the invitation hadn't been meant for herself or Sai. Some other part yelled defiance at the first, certain coming was a good idea.

"It's my treat tonight, Sakura," Naruto grinned, patting the deep pockets of his black pants. The welcome bulge of Gamachan rested comfortably in the pocket, waiting to be spent. Kakazu had had quite the bounty on his own head. "Dinner tonight for you is my treat. I'm just happy that our two teams can sit down for a nice dinner and relax!"

oOo

Having disposed of Chouji and Shikamaru for the night, Ino made her way to Amaguri with a broad smile on her face. The plan was really simple. By showing up by herself, she could just claim that Shikamaru and Chouji had had other plans. Then she would be left alone with Naruto for the evening and would be able to work her charms on him with ease.

It was the perfect plan.

She couldn't know it, but walking towards Amaguri, both Naruto and Sakura sneezed.

oOo

Ino waited for her meal to arrive, glaring at her rival. The pink-haired girl, dressed in a totally gaudy, unflattering blue dress sat across the small table from her. The way the golden threading of the dress was shaped, it was meant to look classy while drawing attention to the wearer's bust. Why did Naruto have to invite _her_ along? Why the hell would she even come along? She sipped her tea as she considered the evil blue-clad creature, who was giving her a smug look in turn. She knew, of course. The small smile on her face was trying to be coy about it but Sakura's entire posture screamed personal satisfaction.

Sakura sipped her ice-water as she idly tapped her fingers on the table, trying to smother the grin fighting it's way to her face. So _that's _how it was. While she was pissed off that this blond hussy would try to move in on _her_ teammate under her nose, she was greatly satisfied that she'd been lucky enough to be invited along. She knew the story about Chouji and Shikamaru canceling last minute was a lie. It was the lamest excuse to get him alone! Who did that girl think she was? Especially wearing such a skanky black dress! The low-cut neckline plunged dangerously, loosely covered by translucent silk. The high cut of her dress, mid-thigh, was likewise rendered decent only by the stockings! It was like she wasn't wearing anything at all! A more conservative dress like her own was far classier, the green-eyed girl concluded.

"They sure are taking their time with our food," Naruto commented from his position to Ino's right and Sakura's left, idly looking around the swanky restaurant, oblivious to the silent exchange taking place right in front of him. The focus of his attention was on the gnawing hunger in his belly and the pressure slightly below that.

"Sakura, how was work? You're looking tired tonight," Ino mentioned, smiling at the barb. Subtle enough to pass unnoticed beneath the blond boy's eyes, yet still cut the blue-garbed medic-nin: Sakura's eyes were strained, her lower eyelids ever so slightly dark from too many late nights at the hospital. Completely unlike her own well-rested eyes, unmarred by lack of sleep.

"I'm fine, Ino. Though you like you've seen a little too much sun," Sakura grinned, reveling in her own alabaster skin when compared to Ino's almost orange hue. Working in the hospital like she did, she was able to maintain a nice, pale complexion, allowing her pale hair to complement her pale skin. Ino's own sun-darkened hue clashed with her hair.

"Oh, no... This is just the result of going on too many missions recently. Oh, that's right, Sakura... You're so busy at the hospital you don't really get too many missions these days, do you?" Ino switched tactics, throwing her foe's lack of experience in her face. Naruto still wasn't paying attention, so she knew she could up her game. She paused, almost in thought. "How is your practice going? Have you learned any new jutsu?"

"I've learned plenty, Ino. Afterall... I'm the primary apprentice of the Hokage herself, remember? She's been taking the time to teach me _everything _she knows," Sakura added with a smirk. Ino wouldn't get her based on that. Being the Hokage's apprentice, she had certain advantages. Like learning ninjutsu tricks so obscure most jounin didn't know as much as she did.

"Hey, I''ll be right back," Naruto stated, standing up and stretching before heading towards the washroom. Both girls watched him briefly, waiting until he was out of hearing before they turned back to openly glare at one another, abandoning the loosely-veiled facade of civility.

"All right Ino, what's the deal?" Sakura demanded, crossing her arms as she stared across the table at her friend. She gestured at Naruto's empty seat. "Why are you dragging him out for a date without even telling him what it is?"

"Jealous?" Ino retorted, leaning back in her chair and sipping her tea. She stopped glaring, her eyes gazing towards Naruto's chair with a fond look which surprised Sakura. The green-eyed girl's hostility wavered. "Look, Sakura... I tried to play a prank on Naruto. It backfired. I know... well, everything."

"Everything?" Sakura asked, taken aback. Not many people their age knew much about Naruto, especially the Kyuubi. She'd only learned about the nine-tailed demon a couple months previously and she was the Hokage's apprentice and the boy's teammate. She paused, searching carefully for the proper words. Maybe the blond girl was bluffing. "So you even know about Naruto's little problem?"

"You mean the Kyuubi?" Ino asked quietly, causing Sakura to gasp. The blond smiled to herself, satisfied that she'd surprised Sakura. The blond leaned forward, lowering her voice to just a whisper: She had to convince the girl that she was sincere, at least. "I tried to use Shintenshin no Jutsu on Naruto yesterday, Sakura. I got trapped in Naruto's mind and that monster inside him nearly killed me."

"What happened-" Sakura began, then stopped, leaning back speculatively. Naruto happened, obviously. Which meant... "What does Naruto think of this?"

"He doesn't know. He thought it was all a dream," Ino replied, waving a hand negligently. She paused, for a moment with a sigh. "Look, Sakura... I'm not messing with him. I'm not going to play with his heart or anything. I know exactly what I'm getting into with him."

"Yeah, but-" Sakura began, stopping as Ino's eyes flickered past her shoulder. Naruto returned to his seat, a wide smile on his face. Ever clueless to his surroundings, the pinkette mused that Naruto wouldn't notice anything if it wasn't trying to kill him, teach him powerful jutsu, or flavoured with ramen.

"Dinner's still not here? Man, they're slow," Naruto crossed his arms as his eyes swept across the restaurant, searching for their server. It had been a whole ten minutes since they'd placed their order!

"Now now, Naruto... It isn't like they're serving Ramen here," Sakura chided, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. Her eyes flickered back to Ino's face, and she was forced to hide her surprise when she saw that her friend's attention was on Naruto. As if they hadn't been talking seriously just a moment ago. Over Ino's shoulder, she saw dinner approaching. "Besides, it looks like it's done."

"Finally!" Naruto cheered, eagerly eyeing the food. As the blond boy dug into his meal, Ino's eyes met Sakura's over the flower arrangement in the center of the table. This wasn't over. Not yet. They turned their attention to their own meals.

oOo

Naruto yawned loudly as he, Ino, and Sakura walked along the side-streets and back alleys of Konoha as they made their way home. While this might sound dangerous to the average person, Konoha had a remarkably low crime rate: Konoha's various ninja residents having a remarkably low tolerance for, and a judiciously high ability to deal with, the occasional back-alley thug who tried to set up shop.

Such men were convinced to move on and forget they'd ever thought of staying in the first place. The spirited points made by the ninja rebuking them even meant that sometimes they were able to move on under their own power instead of being slung across the shoulders of an ANBU ninja.

Sakura and Ino exchanged a look as they walked, evaluating one another as they considered dinner. After the food had arrived, Naruto hadn't left the table, leaving them to spar with nothing more than veiled words and innuendo. They hadn't been able to discuss anything of substance.

Naruto was, of course, oblivious to everything.

They paused in front of the Yamanaka flower shop and Ino hesitated.

"Well, thanks for dinner, Ino-chan!" Naruto stated, smiling as he faced the blond girl. Sakura started at the implied connection in the form of address. Seeing Sakura's reaction, Ino grinned and snagged Naruto in a hug. "Eh, Ino-chan?"

"I just wanted to thank you for coming, Naruto! And thanks for bringing Sakura along, too! It would have been weird with just the two of us!" Ino hauled the grin back to a small smile as she pulled away from the hug, cheering internally at the shell-shocked look on the blond boy's face. She knew she was sending a bit of a mixed message: She knew she had to take it a little slower than normal. The poor boy didn't react well to certain forms of change. If Sakura's story about the mission in Demon Country was true, he was pretty clueless when it came to women.

"Yeah, almost like a date," Sakura edged in, her voice low and even. The green-eyed girl bored twin holes in the blond boy's back. Hint hint, idiot!

"No way, me and Ino-chan?" Naruto chuckled, turning to look at his teammate, and thus missing Ino sticking out her tongue at the pink-haired girl. He shook his head, turning back to the other blond in their trio. "That's just crazy!"

"Yeah, you're right. That is crazy," Sakura said, taking advantage of Naruto's turned back to lash back with a grin of her own at her old friend. The blue-eyed girl's smile barely changed, just a slight tightening of the eyes. "Goodnight, Ino."

"Goodnight, Sakura," Ino replied, entering the flower shop and closing the door behind her. As tempting as it was to follow the pair as Naruto walked Sakura to her house, the blond girl knew she'd already pressed her luck enough for one night.

oOo

"That would have been funny though, eh?" Naruto pondered after a moment, walking in companionable silence with Sakura to her house. While it wasn't on the way, strictly speaking, it wasn't in the opposite direction, either.

"What?" Sakura asked, her train of thought derailed by Naruto's sudden question.

"Ino and me on a date: That would have been funny, right?" Naruto repeated, scratching his chin and glancing up at the stars above. He continued, not noticing the emotionless mask his companion's face was becoming at the sight of his small smile. "I mean, why would a girl like Ino date a guy like me?"

Shit, Sakura thought to herself. She was torn between wanting to compliment him about everything he'd done, everything he'd accomplished... and wanting to smack him one for chasing her all these years if he thought Ino was so unattainable.

Then again, he wanted to be Hokage, too. Now she wanted to smack him for being so unpredictable. Before she could resolve her feelings, she gave Naruto a small smile as his eyes turned to meet hers.

"I guess it would have been sort of funny," she admitted, trying to find a way to ask more. He couldn't be interested in Ino. There was just no way...

The door to her house arrived far too quickly. Resolving not to let Ino upstage her, Sakura hugged her teammate as well, drawing a huge blush and sputtered questions which reaffirmed her belief in his affection.

As the door to her home clicked shut, she didn't bother to smother the scowl as she remembered his small smile as he gazed at the moon.

oOo

Author's Notes:

This revision was a little shorter than it had been previously, though that is mainly related to the pacing: I didn't want to stretch Naruto going to the can too long and didn't want to spend a thousand words having Ino and Sakura trade veiled insults under Naruto's nose while the trio ate. (Though I could have)

I added in the walk home with Sakura to more firmly plant Ino as a rival, establishing that one of Naruto's reasons for laughing off Ino Sakura's mention of the "accidental" date was his disbelief in her interest, not an implied disinterest of his own. While strictly speaking Naruto would have affirmed that Sakura was his one and only, I'm sure Jiraiya spent a fair amount of time trying to tutor Naruto on the opposite sex. We know where the old bastard stands on that point.

The next chapter soonish. I'm not going to promise a day or time because that seems to me to be the quickest way for it to be abandoned. You see it when it's done.


	5. Chapter 5

An Unforeseen Consequence

oOo

Ino awoke to the shrill, persistent clanging of her alarm clock. She slapped one hand down on the bells and hammer, briefly silencing the time piece as she struggled to awaken. With a toss of her head she flicked the blanket from her face, allowing her to glare at the evil device.

Her arm was currently stretched to the limit. As long and dainty as her fingers were, she couldn't reach behind the clock and flick the switch which would let her go back to sleep. Her groggy mind realized she only had two options: She could let go of the bell and hammers so that she could flick the switch off, but doing so would create more noise. Her other method of attack required her to pull her arm from under her torso to reach behind the clock. Either would awaken her further and would banish the possibility of going back to sleep, even briefly.

Of course, that was why she bought the thing in the first place. With the groan of the damned, Ino opted to spare her parents more noise, clutching the alarm clock's noisemakers firmly with one hand and turning the switch off with the other. Now sitting up in bed, Ino scowled at the clock and briefly considered hurling the thing out the window.

Early morning pedestrians were spared a potential head injury as Ino set the alarm clock aside and opted instead to get ready. The Hokage had requested her presence this morning. While she wasn't Tsunade's apprentice, Ino had on occasion taken lessons from the older medic. This morning would be one of those lessons. The unusual hour was normal: As busy as the Godaime was, Ino had to take whatever she was offered, be it as the sun rose or long after sun had set and the daily bustle had ended.

Her morning preparations, normally filled with fluid grace and energy, were rendered wooden and sluggish by the earlier time. Combined with the relative lateness of the night before, the girl was painfully aware that she'd gotten far less sleep than her growing body wanted. Her parents both still asleep, the girl was able to make breakfast without any light teasing from her father. Smacking face first into the front door of the shop, still locked, was just another insult to the injury of rising so early.

Ino stalked through Konoha's streets in the pre-dawn light just before sunrise, making her way to the office building which housed the Hokage's office and training hall.

oOo

Ino ducked under the fist, hearing a sharp crack as the four knuckles leading the blow broke the sound barrier. With a frightened squeal, Ino rolled under her assailants shoulder, tagging the leg with an explosive tag and then flipping away. Her assailant snagged the tag and threw it into the air, where it detonated with a light "piff" sound.

"You nearly got me that time, Ino!" Sakura encouraged, cracking her knuckles as she glanced up at the small cloud of black smoke as it lazily drifted into the sky. Sakura's smile turned into a nasty smirk as her stance dropped low, and the blond girl reflected that the pinkette was far too perky for this hour. "Well, let's continue!"

Ino whimpered as she rolled to the side, throwing several blunted shuriken at Sakura as she desperately searched her mind for a plan. Getting up this early to dodge Sakura's attacks? It had to be sadism, Ino concluded. Not to mention the added problem of being a living punching bag for the green-eyed girl's frustrations after dinner last night.

She wasn't a taijutsu-type! She wanted to learn from Tsunade to learn medical ninjutsu, not that bizarre martial art the slug sannin used which required insane amounts of strength. To be fair to the Godaime, she had begun to learn the method of building up and releasing her chakra to boost her own strength... but she was nowhere near Sakura or Tsunade's level.

"Think, Ino!" The young blond growled to herself as she leaped into the air, avoiding Sakura's fist as it plowed a deep trench into the ground. She allowed her hand to drop into the practice tool pouch she carried. Three more dummy explosive tags, a dozen or so blunted kunai, and plenty of blunted shuriken. Not much to work with, she concluded. She hurled another shuriken at Sakura, saw the pink-haired girl duck under it before she leaped up to meet Ino mid-air.

Ino used a tree branch to deflect her jump towards the ground at the last minute, wincing as Sakura's kick snapped off the tree limb with a sharp crack. The poor branch, having done nothing wrong, was propelled ludicrously high in the air. The blond backed away and defended as Sakura charged in with her fists, a surge of adrenaline pulsing through her as she felt the air around her crack with the violence of Sakura's frenzied blows.

Grateful for the ballet lessons her mother had forced her to attend as a child, Ino used her planted foot to leap and contort in ways Sakura thought impossible as the red-clad girl's punches once again missed. The blond girl planted her hands on the ground and tumbled away, gaining much needed distance from her melee-oriented foe. She needed a plan!

Then she remembered Naruto's fight with Gaara. Imitation was flattery and Ino knew that Sakura hadn't seen this particular trick from her prankster teammates playbook. Not yet, anyway.

Wrapping a kunai handle with one of the explosive tags she had and wielding it as a close-range weapon, Ino charged in, briefly surprising her foe. She ducked under a kick as Sakura responded to the unexpected move, swinging the blade up towards pink-haired girl's throat. The Hokage's apprentice neatly caught the blade between two fingers, employing her strength to halt the weapon immediately. The blond winced as she noted how those delicate-looking fingers bent the blunted edge of the kunai.

Ino pulsed her chakra once as she abandoned the weapon, planting her lead hand on Sakura's left shoulder. Using the girl's frame as leverage, Ino jumped as she tried to drive her knee into her rival's jaw. Sakura tossed her head back, avoiding the blow as she watched the blond girl soar over her head and far out of range. Sakura didn't notice the explosive tag as it burst into flames. Not until it detonated in a puff of black smoke which covered her face in black soot.

"Sloppy, Sakura!" Ino called while still in the air, landing and not bothering to hide the smug grin. Had that been a real exploding tag, the pink-haired girl would have been dead. She'd FINALLY won a round against the Hokage's apprentice. Ino silently thanked Naruto for the tactic as Sakura wiped the soot off of her face with a gloved hand.

"You did well, Ino," Sakura acknowledged, pausing to smirk. "Maybe next time I'll use tools as well... Just so it's a little more even."

"Maybe next time we won't forbid ninjutsu," Ino replied with an equal smirk. She'd learned a very interesting fact which she could apply to her own family techniques and she fully intended to use it if Tsunade ever allowed them to use ninjutsu in their sparring.

Naruto groaned, feeling the heat on his eyelids as sleep left him slowly, stumbling from his mind. A cracked eye revealed the bright sun shining through a cloudless sky, still low in the sky and shining through his window to cast a bright column across the top half of his futon. He rolled over, feeling the light of the sun heat the back of his neck as he paused, clinging to the last vestige of sleep like a possessive child.

After a moment's pause, he stretched, realizing it was time to get up. He'd promised the old lady that he'd drop by and discuss Akatsuki with her. She said she'd have some free time with some of her students sparring. He glanced up at the clock, noting that he had roughly twenty minutes before he had to be at the training ground.

Breakfast was shrimp ramen and what was left of the carton of milk. Slurping the second, Naruto eagerly watched his electric kettle as he waited for the water to boil so he could eat the first. With a puff of steam the appliance shrieked, and the blond boy eagerly pulled back the top on the container, pouring in the hot water inside. Within moments, he'd slurped down his breakfast. Dressing quickly and opting to save cleaning up for later, he shaved a few minutes off of his morning routine and was on his way with time to spare.

It only took Naruto seven minutes to reach the training ground. He landed lightly beside Tsunade, looking over to see her two students were none other than Ino and Sakura. Both girls sported plenty of dust and minor scrapes. The pair were currently staring directly at one another, unaware of his arrival.

"Hey, Granny Tsunade," Naruto called, his usual cheer somewhat diminished by the relatively early hour. The blond woman turned to him, her smile strained at the lack of respect in Naruto's form of address. She paused before turning back to the pair of her students.

"You two keep sparring. I've got to speak with Naruto," Tsunade commanded, stepping back from the pair and motioning for Naruto to follow. The boy did, idly glancing back at the two girls.

"Hey, Sakura... Why don't we go all out this time?" Ino asked, looking with a significant grin towards where the Hokage and a certain blond were speaking. Her rival smiled.

"Good idea, Ino," Sakura replied, pulling her gloves tight and grabbing a spare pouch of training tools. The strode in a circle, warily keeping an eye on one another, waiting for some unspoken signal. Their eyes locked and they paused as a gust of wind ruffled the trees, blowing leaves in between them.

Metal clashed on metal as a Sakura hurled a shuriken to deflect one of Ino's kunai.

The battle was on.

oOo

"So, you think your new jutsu worked well?" Tsunade asked, eying Naruto with her arms crossed as she leaned against a tree, her eyes never leaving the two girls. The blue-eyed boy's response was cut off by a loud yell and a localized earthquake as Sakura's fist drove into the ground, shattering the flat earth and turning it into a clod-filled crater. Ino was airborn, sailing over her rival's head and throwing several shuriken to keep the pink-haired girl distracted.

Five blond girls landed and sprinted at Sakura from various directions. The Hokage's apprentice countered with five shuriken, grinning as they passed harmlessly through four clones and the remaining blond ducked under.

"Say, aren't they getting a little rough for sparring?" Naruto asked, his eyes tracking his teammate as she charged Ino with another punch. This one went straight through a tree, pulping wood and cracking it straight up the middle. The girl used one of the falling halves of the tree as leverage to escape a kunai hurled by Ino.

Hearing no response from the other person watching the battle Naruto turned, seeing a look of stunned comprehension dawn on the medic-nin's face, her jaw dropping ever so slightly. She glanced once at Naruto, then back to the fight, the corner of her mouth twitching into a bemused smile.

"Did they get into a fight or something?" Naruto asked, pointing to the carnage. He flinched as another earthquake nearly tossed him to the ground, throwing his arms above his head to protect against stray debris. "Do you know anything, Granny?"

Naruto scowled as the woman chuckled. "Hey, hey! What's so funny, you old hag!"

"You're an idiot," The Hokage concluded with a scowl, rolling her eyes as she turned her concentration on the fight. She gestured to where Ino was twisting out of the way of Sakura's melee blows, the blond girl concentrating as she searched for a way of opening up space between her and her foe. "You might want to watch, brat. You may even learn something."

Naruto's eyes widened and he turned to watch the fight. He could always talk to the old woman later.

oOo

Round two. Ignoring Naruto and Tsunade's intense gaze, the duet clashed. Sakura's unreasonably strong taijutsu versus Ino's acrobatic dodges as the blond did her best to avoid broken bones and unsightly bruises. Ino knew she had to play to her advantages to win this fight. She grinned, forming the seals for Shintenshin no Jutsu as she glared at her rival. Sakura flinched, flipping back and gaining the distance to dodge.

It was all Ino needed. Her fingers shifted from the final seal of her family's jutsu to another ninjutsu, more well-known to her pink-haired rival.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Though not her signature technique, it was certainly within Ino's ability to learn. She grinned as a single clone poofed into existence alongside her, ignoring the massive chakra drain as her reserves were halved. Ino grinned at the look of confusion on her foe's face. She didn't realize, even now.

Ino's clone converged on Sakura, plunging in for the attack. Within meters of her foe, her clone used Bunshin no Jutsu, throwing Sakura into confusion by robbing her of the time needed to tell the difference between the solid clone and the illusions. Forced to dodge the attacks of both types clones, Sakura was pelted several times with solid fists. She lashed out, dispersing two of the regular Bunshins, receiving a ringing headache for her trouble as Ino's solid clone slammed a heel into her rival's head.

"Now!" Ino roared, her clone grinning at her call, forming the seal for Kage Bunshin and producing a dozen shadow clones of her own. Those clones all used Bunshin no Jutsu, surrounding Sakura with a virtual army of Inos. Again they rushed the pink-haired girl, who was pelted with dozens of punches and kicks as she tried to defend against the onslaught. Trained to deal with only a small number of foes, Sakura could do nothing but stumble from one attack to the next, collecting bruises and other minor injuries as she avoided the worst of the attacks.

"Nice, Sakura!" Ino called, her clones echoing her words. The feeling of a small army buoying her words, the blond girl understood the orange-clad boy's desire to gloat while he sat back and watched his army pummel his foe. She had just over a dozen clones under her command, and the feeling was intoxicating. "You've watched Naruto fight often enough! Don't tell me you can't deal with Kage Bunshins!"

Thinking about the stories Ino had heard from Sakura and Shikamaru, she couldn't imagine commanding thousands of disposable warriors, all at level of taijutsu higher than her own. With one Jutsu, she commanded a small force of ninja capable of putting her _rival _purely on the defensive. At the same twitch of _his _fingers, Naruto wielded an army, each of which was nearly as good as Neji at taijutsu. No wonder the boy was sometimes arrogant. Who needed to be humble when they had an army in reserve whenever they needed it?

"Clever, Ino!" Sakura called, shoving her hand into her tool pouch and producing a hand full of kunai and shuriken. The smile on the green-eyed girl's face only broadened as she took in the army by which she was surrounded. "But... Let me show you why Naruto is the only one capable of using that technique against jounin-level ninja!"

With those words, Sakura hurled her ninja tools in circle around around herself. Throwing her arms in front of her face and dodging, Ino could only watch as all of her clones were dispersed in a single attack.

"See, Naruto's use of Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is special. It's a style of attack only he can use," Sakura commented, grinning asIno stood, alone now in the woods. She waved her hands around. "Naruto can call hundreds of clones to his side as he needs them. The loss of a few clones doesn't bother him at all, because creating more is child's play. His army is infinite. I can tell from the look on your face... Yours is not."

Sakura cracked her knuckles, stretching her arms. Then, with a sharp thrust which cracked the ground beneath her feet, she launched herself at Ino. The blond rolled underneath the kick, planting her hands and channeling her chakra just so. Sticking briefly, she was able to plant her feet and flip backwards, soaring over Sakura's head as the pink-haired girl spun around.

Confused, Sakura was unprepared for the sweep kick which robbed her of her footing. She found herself falling chest-first onto a blunted kunai held up by her foe. Only by planting her arms and channeling chakra in a burst was Sakura able to stop her downward momentum. She rolled to her right, avoiding Ino's blade as the blond girl slashed in her direction.

Both girls clashed one last time, Ino regaining her feet and dipping her hands into her tool pouch as she performed a palm strike to Sakura's solar plexus. Sakura ignored the blow, her own punch far more effective as she slammed her fist into Ino's jaw. Perhaps not at full strength, but close enough. The blond skipped along the ground like a flat stone hurled over the surface of the water, finally caught by Naruto before she struck a tree.

"Boom," Ino commented firmly as her eyes met Naruto's, grinning as consciousness fled. Naruto looked up to see three explosive tags slapped onto Sakura's body detonate into puffs of smoke. Bewildered, his own mind ran back to his fight with Gaara, years ago. It was the same tactic. Distract your foe long enough to trade strikes, then let them hit you with a stronger taijutsu attack than you could hit back with. Then they get blown to hell while they're reveling in their victory.

It was exactly the same. Right down to the word on Ino's lips as it worked. Naruto gazed down at the unconscious girl's face in wonderment.

"So, it's another win for Ino, then," Tsunade commented, her eyes narrowing as she watched Sakura approach. She wagged one finger at her apprentice. "I'm surprised Sakura... Ino beat you twice in a row, now. Even if her teacher was the Third's son, that doesn't excuse how sloppy you were in losing to explosive tags twice in a row! I'll have to double your taijutsu training!"

Sakura groaned, her mood only improved by the knowledge that her rival would feel the pains caused by her win long after the bruises she herself had received had faded.

oOo

"Oi, old woman! Why do I have to carry Ino!?" Naruto demanded, shifting the blond girl's limp weight on his shoulders. Her arms dangled limply on each side of his neck, and the blond boy was very firmly trying NOT to think about how his hands were supporting her weight.

Walking back from the training ground at a more sedate pace than he'd arrived, Naruto couldn't help but be annoyed. He'd been called out for a quick talk, and here he was doing all the work.

"Isn't it obvious?" The Hokage countered, shaking her head. "Even if it's not TOO much, Sakura is injured from her battle with Ino... and I'm the Hokage. That leaves you as the only one to transport Ino, Naruto."

"I guess," Naruto muttered, paused and shifting Ino's weight so that it was easier to carry. He still thought the reasoning was suspect, though accepted the burden in the end. It wasn't like the girl was heavy. They journeyed in comparative silence, Naruto silently plodding along as Sakura and Tsunade spoke quietly.

Eventually they reached Konoha proper.

"Naruto, you can take Ino back to her house," The Hokage announced, gesturing down the road. "Sakura and I will be at the hospital, attending to our duties. After you drop Ino off at her home come to the hospital so we can finish our conversation, Naruto. And tell that girl she's not allowed to get out of bed for the rest of the day!"

Sakura appeared to be on the verge of arguing, but held her tongue, shooting a glare at the unconscious girl on Naruto's shoulders. The blond boy cocked his head at this, wondering. Nothing came to him as he examined the Hokage's grin and his teammate's scowl, so he merely leaped to the rooftops and made his way to his burden's home, making just a brief stop on the way.

oOo

Author's Notes

Hey, remember how I told you I couldn't promise that the next chapter would be up soon? Well, about half an hour after I completed the last chapter, this was ready to post. I was going to wait a day or two at first, but why bother?

I've merged new content by now, you'll notice. I decided that Chapter 5 and 6 needed no real revision, just merging. I chucked in what I'd written of the fight scene for (what was slated to be) the first half of Chapter 7. So instead, you get a much longer Chapter 5 revision which also includes new content, with Chapter 6 slated to feature more new stuff as well.

And it'll make for three chapters which commence as Ino regains consciousness. I'm a sucker for touches like that. :)


	6. Chapter 6

An Unforeseen Consequence

oOo

Ino was slow to awaken, her mind feeling as sluggish as if it were trapped in sticky mud. A jumble of images, her fighting Sakura, crept at the edge of comprehension, ending with soft blue eyes and a concerned face. Clearly Sakura's last punch had packed a fair amount of force, a suspicion confirmed by the lucidity brought about by the sharp lightning strike of pain as she moved her head.

She kept her eyes closed, focusing on her other senses. Something soft and comforting underneath her, almost as if she were sleeping in her own bed. The light sound of someone else breathing, just off to her left. The smell of clean sweat mingled with the comforting smell of mingled evergreen needles and seasonal tree leaves. The tangy copper of dried blood, welling from a sharp throbbing on the inside of her lower lip.

Her eyes opened to a dark blur, before her vision brightened into focus on the infuriating sight of Uzumaki Naruto. Her vision sharpened more to reveal that she was, in fact, in her room. Naruto sat in the chair normally resting in front of her desk, a tray holding a steaming pot of tea and an empty cup resting on her night table.

"Hey, you're awake!" Naruto's loud voice chimed, doing no favours for her headache. Ino felt the urge to scream at him for the lack of caution in dealing with someone who probably had a concussion, let alone for the invasion of privacy, but she didn't have the heart to voice anything against the youth's broad grin.

It was infectious enough for Ino to match, split lip and all. She winced as she levered herself up, consciousness swimming and making her feel as if she was swaying. The gentle, firm hand of Naruto's hand on her shoulder, keeping her from tumbling gracelessly onto his lap, proved it to be more than just a feeling.

"So, I lost?" Ino finally queried, struggling to balance her upright body. She got her elbows planted and managed to keep steady in a graceless slouch. The position was poor for her posture AND put a decided lack of emphasis on the parts she wanted to draw Naruto's attention to, but the gray-eyed Yamanaka lacked the energy to do more.

"No, you won!" Naruto assured her, grinning as he rubbed his jaw. Releasing his hand from her shoulder, he raised his index finger in the air, unconsciously mimicking their academy teacher as he continued. "Granny Tsunade gave you the win in that second fight because of the explosive tags. She said that Sakura would have been dead, but you'd have only been unconscious. A clear win for you."

"I think I'll avoid winning in the future," the blond admitted ruefully, feeling the ache in her jaw as she rubbed her chin. She scarcely remembered the beginning of the fight with Sakura, let alone the conclusion. Despite her efforts to the contrary, the jumbled images remained a chaotic montage with no order or flow. Her eyes met the youth watching her intently and she managed another smile. "Fake explosive tags leave Sakura covered in soot, but you can't really fake a knock out punch."

"That's why you should focus on taijutsu," Naruto smirked, clenching his fist. He threw a jab to his left and thumbed his nose. "It's better to be the one clobbering someone out than being the one clobbered. It's not like you'll ever find yourself in a situation where being able to fight well will hinder you."

"I'll admit that my skills are a little weak," Ino admitted, as much to herself as the orange-clad genin at her side. She smiled and lowered her voice just a touch, adding, "Maybe you can help me learn some grappling?"

"Sure!" Naruto agreed. The blond girl reflected that perhaps that clueless nature of his had it's positive sides. It would certainly present her with opportunities the likes of which few people ever offered. Just like an opponent who charges into an ambush without noticing the sprung traps. Naruto gave Ino a thumbs up. "The only guy who's better than me is Bushybrows and I don't think you want your hands all battered and bruised!"

"Certainly not. Though that green outfit would probably look alright on me, wouldn't it?" Ino's stare and the cast of her smirk were, perhaps, direct enough to pierce the wall of obliviousness surrounding Naruto, however briefly. After a moment of dawning comprehension, the boy blushed bright red and directed his eyes elsewhere while the silver-eyed girl chuckled.

"Anyway," Naruto coughed, his eyes not quite meeting the injured kunoichi as he stood. He strode to her open window, planting a foot on the sill. "I've got to get back to the old lady and see what she wants. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"See you later, Naruto," Ino said with a nod, keeping her eyes on billowing curtains of her window even after the loud shinobi had departed. She had certainly made progress. Perhaps even clued the boy in to her intentions, though she wouldn't be banking on that sort of miracle. What little perception the perpetual genin possessed seemed to be focused on fighting or training. In a lot of ways, he was still the same naive little boy he'd been when he graduated from the academy. Perhaps that was the reason everyone who knew him had such faith in him. He was, in some ways, too pure for any serious guile or deception.

Her introspection was interrupted by her mother's quiet cough at the door. One of her mother's delicate fingers flicked towards the flowers sitting in a plain-looking vase. The florist in Ino groaned at an arrangement of undying passion, fervent devotion, and... embarrassingly enough, unquestioned fidelity. When the breeze shifted and the tea reeked of ginseng, Ino was left to ponder the depths of Naruto's ignorance and the astounding amount of trouble it could cause.

He saw some tea for revitalizing energy and a handful of pretty flowers. Her mother, her teacher in both Ikebana and herbology, saw something decidedly less innocent and alarming more adult.

"Ino, do we need to have a talk?" Though phrased as a question, the blond girl knew it was instead a statement of fact. As her mother sat on the edge of her bed with a stern look, searching for words, Ino was left to wonder just what sort of retribution the blond genin was due for the long, embarrassing discussion she was about to have.

oOo

Sakura was, for the first time in a great many years, experiencing an emotion so long absent from her life that it felt alien. This emotion wasn't anything pleasant, that she knew right away, but it took her nearly half the walk to the hospital to finally identify it: She was jealous, or perhaps even envious, of Ino.

It had been a long time since she'd last felt it. Around the time that she and Ino both discovered they had a crush on Sasuke. It was on that day, so long ago, that the pink-tressed girl decided to push away jealousy and envy. She'd grabbed those feelings and buried them somewhere deep and dark, somewhere she thought she'd never see them again. She thought she never would, given how amiable their relationship became after that first chunin exam.

The years since they'd rekindled their relationship had, she'd assumed, been an ample test of that resolve. Not once in the three years since they'd resumed being friends, had she ever wished she were Ino, wished that the blond girl and her own role were reversed. Perhaps with Sasuke gone that resolve had never really been tested, but she was sure she was completely beyond it.

Yet seeing the silver eyed girl smile while her head rested gently against Naruto's on the walk back from their sparring match, Sakura finally understood it was jealousy causing that uneasy feeling in her gut.

"Sakura... Even with my lousy record for gambling, I bet you're wondering why I ordered Naruto to take Ino home," Tsunade's statement could have been a thought plucked from the green-eyed girl's mind, and her slack-jawed amazement told the Sannin as much. She smiled. "I can understand your confusion, Sakura."

They walked in silence for a moment, amusement and confused amazement. Sakura's mind finally put words to the question her heart begged to ask.

"Well... if you don't mind telling me... Why did you?" Sakura finally asked, carefully keeping her voice neutral. Her mind raced as she tried to understand why she was feeling jealous. It was Naruto! Dumb, dependable Naruto!

"It's actually very simple, Sakura," Tsunade explained, shrugging her shoulders. Despite her casual gesture, the slug summoner refused to meet her apprentice's eyes. "Ino seems to have an interest in Naruto. I think they might be good for one another."

"But-"

"But Naruto has always had a crush on you, and who am I to interfere with his affection for you?" Tsunade interrupted, stopping to stare Sakura directly in the eyes. In those eyes the pinkette read anger which had nothing to do with herself. Tsunade continued before the girl could answer the question. "Sakura, no man's heart is a toy. Seeing that girl's interest beside your own lack thereof, I have no reason whatsoever not to help Ino. You have to face the fact that he might not always be there when you decide that you're ready."

Sakura was stunned as her mentor blushed, quickly striding away as if she'd said more than she'd meant to say. Dawning comprehension finally sucker-punched the girl as she remembered her teammate's mentor, and his own rather strange relationship with her teacher. She hurried after her teacher. An irritated glance quelled the words on Sakura's lips, and they walked in silence for a few minutes.

Crossing a bridge away from the crowds, Tsunade stopped suddenly. She walked to the railing to watch the river flowing underneath, seeming to draw a measure of calm from the placid, gentle flow of water. When she spoke it held no heat, only remorse.

"Sakura, I don't want to see you waste your life hiding behind a wall of excuses. Neither do I want Naruto to spend his life waiting until you tear those walls down. If you're not prepared to fight for him, you have no excuse to be angry if someone else is." Despite the blond woman's gentle words, the splinter of the wooden railing beneath her deceptively gentle hand showed a lack of control the red-clad chunin had rarely seen in her teacher. The sad eyes met Sakura's own, and the young girl was amazed at the depth of pain she saw. "The way you've modeled yourself after me is a great compliment, Sakura. Please, don't take it so far that you repeat my mistakes."

Moments stretched into an eternity and Sakura finally recognized the fragile woman beneath the gruff exterior. Despite the smooth, unmarred surface she showed the world, this was a woman who had flaws which could unmake her with the slightest pressure. Sakura now saw the woman who had had to rely on a genin for protection. The woman who had lost one love to death; The woman who lost her other love to her own timidity every time she saw his smiling face.

"Tsunade, I've got too much respect for you not to model myself after you in any way I can," Sakura finally admitted, flashing her teacher a small smile. She risked placing a gentle hand on one shoulder. "I guess that means you'll have to do what you can to fix your own mistakes so I don't make the same ones, right?"

"But, there's been too much since then!" Tsunade's voice was close to panic: Like a hungry predator, Sakura pounced on it.

"You're the one telling me that it's not worth repeating mistakes, Tsunade-_chan._" Sakura's grin was just as smug as the strange honorific, and restored some of the fire she was so used to seeing in her idol's eyes. "Besides, you're the one who keeps telling me that no matter what, you can't give up. Why give up now that you've gained so much wisdom?"

"And I'm supposed to be the teacher," Tsunade finally growled, spinning to lean back against the railing. She flashed a smile to Sakura, and the green-eyed girl saw a serenity she would have rarely associated with Konoha's Fifth Hokage. Then the older woman jabbed Sakura's solar plexus with a scowl which didn't reach the smile in her eyes. "That doesn't let you off the hook, girl! You've still got to make a decision about the blond brat, you know."

"I've got to give it some thought... but you're right. I've got to make a decision," Sakura admitted.

In the three years they'd shared, neither the young girl or the mature woman were as close to one another as they were then. Their shared grins reflected a camaraderie which went beyond the bonds of a teacher and student: They were close friends with a similar pain and unconquerable struggle, finally released from the solitude of their emotional trap in mutual enlightenment.

Despite all that she had learned from the woman in the past and all the moments they would share in the future, both knew that this strange honesty on the bridge would be the defining moment of their relationship.

oOo

Author's Notes:

Well, I've officially wiped my hands of this story. I've had no drive to continue this whatsoever for a long time now and I'd rather leave it as it is than rush a couple of ill-concieved, half-assed chapters out the door and call that a conclusion.

Fear not, however! Agent-G has taken up my offer and decided to continue the story. In fact, he's done so well that any lingering doubts I had about farming the story out. His continuation (with some very minor alterations to the existing work) can be found listed under my Favourite Stories and it's well worth a read. Honestly, I probably couldn't have done it better myself and the quality of his version is such that I don't want to embarrass myself by trying.

Go, check his work out. It be good.

Cheers,

-Gaming Ikari


End file.
